Food safety, sustainability and technology are top of mind for retailers and consumers.
By Ed McKiernan, president retail solutions, Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions
As 2017 moves toward spring and summer, changes in the convenience store industry are beginning to bloom as well. Based on recent feedback from customers, there seem to be three primary issues that will play out over the next several months for the industry: addressing food safety issues, sustainability efforts and bottom line-benefiting technology.
The convenience store shopper is continually pushing the industry to innovate and grow. They are one of the main reasons more focus is now on foodservice; whereas before, it was often treated as an afterthought. Today’s time-pressed consumers, wanting convenience, are seeking fresh items, swift access and new motivations. To meet this growing demand, convenience stores are evolving from gas stations that happen to sell food, to food retailers that provide fueling options.
The remainder of this article looks at three industry trends in 2017 that are also being driven by the convenience store shopper.
- Greater visibility into food safety
A variety of healthy, fresh food options are currently accessible from most convenience stores, as many have adapted their facilities to meet consumer demand. Convenience stores also offer prepared food options in addition to onsite food preparation stations as store concepts converge to keep up with consumer tastes. As a result, delivering fresh food that customers want while keeping the food safe, reliable and profitable is a growing issue.
In an effort to consistently deliver and maintain food safety—as well as control shrinkage— many food retailers are starting to utilize facility data to increase visibility and control of the store equipment that maintains product freshness. Being able to access real time performance data in order to address potential food safety issues such as equipment downtime or refrigerant leaks can also help reduce maintenance costs and improve energy efficiency.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires those in the food industry to implement and document a program ensuring safe transport of food within the U.S. Preventing food loss and protecting customers from foodborne illnesses are critical concerns for retail store operators. Integrating the cold chain from farm to fork and concentrating on pertinent data and monitoring, plus accessing cargo solutions and tracking can help address these concerns.
- Continued focus on sustainability
Consumers are increasingly conscious of the sustainability efforts of the brands they support. For many shoppers, a retailer’s standing in the community, as well as its impact on the environment are important factors in deciding where they shop. Food retailers understand this and have put considerable focus on sustainability efforts. One of the most effective ways food retailers can achieve sustainable, optimized operations is by addressing energy efficiency and ensuring food safety.
Retailers can take advantage of different types of monitoring and reporting to realize better energy performance across a network of stores. Setpoint management helps retailers maintain energy savings in the long term while ensuring that operational issues are actually fixed rather than just the symptoms treated. C-store retailers may also earn financial incentives from utilities, conserve energy, minimize power interruptions, increase energy reliability and protect the environment by reducing power usage during peak hours when demand on the power grid is high.
Refrigeration leak detection and minimization programs are also important. Food retailers must follow new regulatory requirements to prevent potentially costly EPA fines related to refrigerant leaks. The case for employing effective leak detection programs can be made by simply considering the cost of lost refrigerant, degradation of refrigerated system performance and potential for eventual food loss.
Food retail facilities generate a substantial amount of data, with information on HVAC and refrigeration equipment, which can provide an extensive picture of how operations are performing. Facility data will continue to become more valuable as new technologies are assimilated into an enterprise. The use of accumulated performance tracking data may better maintenance activities and permit management to plan out preventive maintenance actions.
- Leveraging IoT and connected devices.
Recent retail customer feedback has shown that energy costs continue to be a top concern. With the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and connecting coolers, freezers, HVAC units and others power-using equipment to a centralized program, retailers can get an accurate picture of their energy use. The information allows them to manage equipment performance and utilize settings to target energy saving temperatures and lighting schedules.
Conclusion
As we continue to see how the year develops, change will be the one constant. Successful food retailers will come through these variations stronger by leveraging technology and adopting intelligent approaches to maintain food safety and sustainability, while making smarter business decisions that benefit their customers.
Ed McKiernan is President of the global Retail Solutions business. His Emerson experience began in 1999 as a strategic planning analyst; he has held a number of different marketing and product management roles, most recently VP/GM Enterprise Services at Retail Solutions before taking his current role in 2016. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.